Most-polluted Kolkata kills 2.5 times more than Delhi; Vadodara safest

Kolkata is the most polluted metropolitan city in the country and is around 2.5 times more dangerous than the capital city of Delhi.

Mumbai is the second most polluted metro and Chennai a much safer fourth. Delhi ranks third while among all areas of the country, Vadodara is the safest city to live in.

According to statistics released by the Scientific and Environmental Researach Institute, quoting government figures, Kolkata had a suspended paritculate matter (SPM), the measure of pollution, at a steep 511 compared to Delhi's 234 and Mumbai's 322.

Chennai was 176 and Vadodara came up trumps with 122. All the figures were computed with 100 as the base while the figures for Bangalore were yet to be computed.

Dr Tanmoy Rudra, eastern regional chief of the Institute which is headquartered in Delhi, told India Today that there were huge fluctuations in the weather of Kolkata with the mercury pushing almost 20 degree centigrade on Tuesday, which was seven degrees above normal. "in fact, it's like summer," he said.

"This may be termed as routine by the weather office but it is obviously a proof of the huge level of pollution in Kolkata. An SPM of 511 is simply unacceptable, "he said.

The weather office director, G.C. Debnath, said it was right that a Western disturbance was causing the sudden warm weather in Kolkata but that the temperature was falling anyway. "This is not unheard of...this is routine. The temperature is indeed falling but not over a sustained period of time. It is just that the prolonged period of cold weather is absent. It will rain in a day or two and then the winter will set in," he added.

Dr Rudra said that while there was a lot of eyewash in pollution figures and explanations, the fact remained that if these conditions continue, the most affected would be pregnant women who might give birth to abnormal babies.

"We do not tamper with figures like the government. We have figures to prove that there was a 10 per cent rise in the birth of abnormal babies during the last decade. If this situation continues, then in another 15 years, there will be at least 12 per cent rise in such cases." He said cough, cold and any sort of bronchial problems were bound to be compounded by the weather change. "Those with bronchial problems and asthma are bound to suffer the most and with every passing day, their plight will increase," he added.

"Unless we take corrective steps right now, we are doomed. I can speak only for the eastern region. Kolkata can easily beat Mumbai...if that is the word...to the second position if autos follow the two-stroke engine mandatory rules.

The high court has set a March 31 deadline to ban all 67,000 two-stroke autos but we have to see whether such pollution norms are maintained. The problem is that it has now become a political issue with the transport minister Subhas Chakraborty caught in a bind," he said.

Dr Rudra said that it was ironical that it was West Bengal which had given a plan which was adjudged the best in 1997 by the government for pollution control measures but had now topped the list of the most polluted area in the country. "We just did not implement it," he said.

As far as Vadodara was concerned, he said it was obvious that pollution norms were followed there much more strictly. "Also you have to bear in mind that almost all auto travelling on Kolkata roads use kata tel or adulterated fuel which is a mixture of benzene, kerosene and petrol. It's cheap but is the killer.

Forget Vadodara and Chennai, there is no question of kata tel being used even in Mumbai. This is the chief reason why the figures of Kolkata are worst and by a huge margin," Dr Rudra said.